Memories of Ilkeston French teacher

Tributes have been paid to an ‘inspirational’ former Ilkeston school teacher.

Elizabeth (Betty) Youle, who taught French at Hallcroft (later Cantelupe) School for 40 years, died on February 9, aged 95.

After suffering a stroke in 2011, she moved into a nursing home in Bournemouth.

On a Facebook page set up in her memory, former pupil Denise Windmill wrote: “I still think of her and mention her even after all these years - she had such an influence on me. God bless her.”

Former colleague Rafik Sfar-Gandoura, who worked with Betty in the early 1970s, wrote: “I admired her intellect, her wit and her generosity. I know she influenced whole generations of young Ilkestonians.”

Ms Youle was born in Sheffield on September 15, 1919, the second child of Herbert (a teacher) and Florence. Betty and her brother, Philip, were pupils at Heanor Grammar School, where their father taught and, following in his footsteps, Betty went on to gain a teaching certificate at college.

She was engaged as French Mistress at Hallcroft in 1944. Following her retirement in 1984, she spent 15 years doing voluntary work for Nottingham City Hospital Chaplaincy.